Things We Do For Love
by Bee Sting 77
Summary: Buffy has some major apologizing to do to Spike.


Authors Note: Set just after Buffy finds out Spike has a soul. I don't own any of these characters, just borrowing from Joss. (  
  
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He could see her now. Walking through the cemetery, wearing his coat, looking for her prey. God, she was gorgeous. What was he thinking, when he thought he could ever get involved with a woman like her? Well, she was a righteous bitch and he always enjoyed a challenge. She strood past him and he frowned. Wasn't he even vamp enough to be on her radar? A fledgling was rising at a grave not twenty feet from him and she was completely oblivious. Spike sighed and took it upon himself to teach the new vamp a thing or two.  
  
Covered with grit and dirt, the fledgling crawled from its grave. He had to be a highschool student, the boy was buried in his letter sweater. Spike stepped up behind him and began to talk to him in a tone too low for humans to hear. "See her? The girl with all that sunlight coming off her? The woman who smells like power? That's a Slayer, mate. The whole guts and glory routine, that's her motto. Think you can take her?" The vamp nodded. "She's hot."  
  
Spike supressed a growl and decided on another course of action. "Yeah, bet you'd like to show her all about vampire stamina, yeah? All fangs and fuck?" The boy nodded before Spike's stake pierced his heart and became a swirl of ashes. "Tried that already." Spike shrugged. He used to think the woman needed some monster in her man, but he was wrong. She wanted a toy, a pet, a lackey. Someone who always knew who was in charge. Get information, Spike. Fight evil, Spike. Good Boy. Well, sod that. He was his own man and he had a bright shiny new soul to prove it. No groveling. She'd come to him.  
  
Buffy turned the corner and for a moment, just a moment, he could see her face. She hugged his duster close and there were tears running down her face. Suddenly she turned and headed towards his crypt. He'd have to hurry if he wanted to beat her there. He chuckled to himself.  
  
"Woof."  
  
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"Spike?"  
  
Buffy tentatively took a step inside. It still smelled of smoke in here. Not the usuall cigarette smell. The burnt, charcoal smell from when Riley had thrown a grenade to the lower level. All of his things, she pouted. Granted, most of them were stolen or scavenged but they had been his. Even those pictures of her, had once seemed frightening but now she thought of them differently. When was the last time she saw Spike sit still long enough to draw? And yet she had been in his mind so much that he had drawn sheet after sheet of beautiful pictures. Of her. Her sleeping. Her laughing. Her smiling straight at him.  
  
A crunch of boots made her turn around. There he stood. Head cocked to the side in his habitual stance he looked at her, no looked through her. "Not to worry Slayer. I'll just get my gear and clear out." He grabbed his cigarettes of the tomb and walked past her to grab his flask. Just close enough for her to smell him. Cigarettes, booze, leather that had clung to his skin because he had worn it so long. Tears came to her eyes again. Why wouldn't he talk to her? Make some innuendo, even raise that one perfectly scarred eyebrow, so she could shove him away. Remember that she was better than him. But he wasn't going to let her hurt him anymore, was he? He had made her feel alive by taking away all of her pain. Taking her pain into himself, everytime she ran away from him, everytime she said those terrible things to him. He had taken it all until she was ready to live and he was a shadow of the Big Bad he once was.  
  
All the men in her life left her. Because you let them. a she answered herself. Time to fight for someone. Like Spike fought for her. Look how much he had changed. How he had tried to be whatever she wanted. Another step or two he would be gone. "Stay." she hadn't even realized she spoke, it came out such a soft whisper. Spike stopped at the door but didn't turn around.  
  
"Sorry pet. Can't be what you want anymore. The Spark makes me all soul having and you need a...thing to punish." He went to take a step forward but her next words stopped him cold.  
  
"I'm sorry." He turned at looked at her over his shoulder. She was crying full force now, her eyes all big and glossy. "I'm so sorry I hurt you. I didn't even care that I crushed you." She walked towards him and stopped. "I didn't see things straight. I kept trying to hold onto who I was before. But that's not who I am now." She wipped her face with the sleeve of his duster. "And you knew that all along. You were the only one who understood and I was awful to you."  
  
He was absolutely gob smacked. There was the Slayer, His Slayer....apologizing. To him. Mark your calendars, ladies and gents. This is one for the history books.  
  
"Please don't go Spike." Suddenly he remembered where he was. He had been about to walk out on this amazing woman. Thank God he came to his senses and pushed her to come to hers. But she was begging now, and he just couldn't resist stringing her along for a minute or two.  
  
"You've got the Scoobies now. You've made your peace with them and now you can go find yourself a new poof or soldier boy. Someone who you can love." He turned to leave, and Buffy began to panic.  
  
"I love you."  
  
Spike was sure if his heart was still beating, it would have stopped right then and there. But he would have died happy.  
  
"Did you hear me Spike? I said I love you."  
  
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he tried to sound non-chalant. "I heard you." Tiny, powerful, tanned arms clothed in black leather wrapped around his waist. He felt the Slayer press her forehead o his back, sobs still shaking her small frame. "Please...dont leave."  
  
"I'll stay." He felt Buffy squeeze closer to him and pushed her hands away. "Three little words dont fix it all, luv. Can't expect five minutes to erase the past year." What on earth was he saying? Oh right, Big Bad and all.  
  
"I know. There's something I want to do. To make it up to you."  
  
"Thought the girl didn't want to be serviced."  
  
She managed a laugh. "You're a pig, Spike." But it didn't hold the usuall sting that it once had. "Come with me?" She held out her hand and he was surprised, but nevertheless took her hand. She managed a trembling smile before she led him out of the crypt.  
  
The first place she took him to, touched his heart. Joyce's grave. Buffy smiled at him and then began to speak to the open air. "Mom, I wanted to tell you that I dating someone new. Well not new, he's about 130 years old, but anyways... I wanted to tell you first." She smiled up at him and began walking again. Tell Joyce FIRST?  
  
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"And just how long can we expect to be seeing dead boy jr.?" Xander's face was red, but his fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were white. Anya had taken the news calmly with requests for details later. And Willow looked as though she was about to vomit. But the Bit was the one he was worried about. At first she had seemed upset. He could read it in her eyes that she knew about that night in the bathroom. The night before he left for Africa. But as Buffy talked, the frown had slipped off her face. And when Buffy said that she wanted Spike to move in with them, for the briefest of moments, Dawn had smiled. The whelp, on the other hand, was not taking the news so well.  
  
"Spike is going to be around for good this time." Buffy sent a tentavie smile his way. "Right?" Spike looked at her. She was afraid he'd say no. He could crush her with one word. As if he actually would! He might be a bastard, but he wasn't a stupid bastard.  
  
"I stuck around when you didn't love me, didn't I? You think I'm gonna leave now, you're off your bird."  
  
THE END 


End file.
